Tag: Ice Out Contest

Quick reminder, today, 4/23/18 at midnite CST is the last chance to enter the Ice Out Contest.

A brief update on the weather. It has warmed up considerably the past few days and by all indications that’s the trend for the near future anyway! I took a cruise around the lake this morning and while there’s a lot of ice to go, it’s starting to lose it’s grip.

Looking across the lake, you can see we still have some snow left on the ski slope in the distance. Most of the ground is bare but in the woods you’ll still find a few patches of snow.

This weekly update bears good news for the Northland. It is finally WARMING UP!!!!! Without a doubt, this has been one long cold winter and right now 50 degrees feels pretty damned good with promises of better weather yet next week. Exactly what we need to melt some ice.

I believe these were released in 2010. I’m not sure what the covers were but the Proto is smooth brown bone. Really a nice knife.

There’s another incredibly rare GEC that I came up with as well. It’s a Tidioute 362208 that includes a handwritten note of provenance signed by Ken. It’s been tucked in the safe for several years and I thought I might share it with you. Not quite sure what I’m going to do with it but it’s a shame to have it sit in the safe.

It’s always interesting to see what got tucked away and forgotten. Somewhere I think I’ve still got a copy of David Anthony’s Book on Great Eastern Cutlery signed by both Ken and Bill. That’s another hard to find collectible. Not sure how many got signed by BOTH Ken and Bill but I know it was only a handful.

I’ll remind everyone over the weekend that the deadline for entering the Ice Out Contest is rapidly approaching. You’ve got until midnite CST this Monday, April 23 to get in. There’s no charge to enter, you don’t have to be a customer, no secret handshake or code words required, overseas entries welcome! You don’t get put on a mailing list and if ya don’t enter ya can’t win. That simple.

I think we can finally start the 2018 Ice Out Contest. The snow is over and we’re supposed to start warming up later this week and see overnight temps above freezing!!! Hooorah! Let the contest begin.

First the Contest Rules. Pretty straightforward. Submit your entry by Responding To This POST between now and Monday, April 23 . PLEASE don’t send me an email with your entry. I need a Name, Date, and Time (AM or PM, CST) that’s your best guess we will see the ice completely leave Detroit Lake. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER CONTESTANT. Be sure to enter AM or PM as two o’clock doesn’t mean much. AND we’ve seen past contests decided by less then a 24 hour window.

Feel free to do some research on your own. Check on previous contests for a little help if you’d like but remember, last year the ice was already gone by now. As of yesterday, we had between 30″ and 36″ of ice on a lot of our lakes. It’s going to take some warm weather to get it gone.

So what’s in it for the winner? This year I’m adding a second prize for the next closest guess. First prize will be a Trestle Pine Topper with a Black Ash Burl handle and S30V clip blade.

First Prize Trestle Pine Topper Black Ash Burl

Second Prize are a pair of Victorinox Swiss Army Knives consisting of a Tinker and a Classic both in Red.

The Ice Out conditions are changing fairly quickly! I took a drive around the lake yesterday and you can see the ice is getting pretty black.

Ice Conditions 3.26.17

I’m not going to make any predictions, but I don’t think we have too much longer for open water. It’s supposed to be in the 50’s the next few days with temps barely touching freezing at nite and those overnite temps make a difference. Winds are predicted to be light, but the warm air will make up for it.

Here’s a listing of “best estimates”. I have to give everyone credit for apparently doing at least a little homework. Everyone stayed within a pretty tight range of what I think is probably going to include the actual date. Check your entry and make sure it’s correct!!

Don’t forget, the cutoff for Ice Out Contest entries is Friday (tomorrow morning) at 8:00AM. Just follow this link and post a reply with your best guest if you haven’t already: 2017 Ice Out Contest

It’s warming up a bit today into the low 40’s and we’ve got more mild weather in the 10 day outlook. There’s a fair amount of wind in the forecast as well which usually helps speed the melting/breakup process. Beyond, your guess is as good as mine!!!

Just a brief update on the Ice Out Contest. Temperatures are bouncing around between 40’s and 50’s and this morning down in the mid teen’s. (in fact, we just had a brief snow squall) So overall the ice is melting but the progress has slowed. There’s just a little water starting to show along the shore in places which is a good sign that things are melting.

Remember, this Friday is the last chance to place a guess. No entry fee, no membership requirement in fact you don’t even have to be a TSA Knives customer. Everyone is invited to participate in a chance to win a Trestle Pine Superior with Stag handles. No strings attached.

Trestle Pine Superior CPM154 Blade

The first of the GEC #48 Weasels arrived. Basically a rework of the original #48 Dogleg. Not exactly sure why it’s called a Weasel this time around, but a nice knife.

GEC #48 Weasel

I also got a new release note from Chris at GEC that the #38 Special will be released this summer, June into July. For a change, these will be an ‘open’ production run meaning dealers can actually order as many as they’d like. The only allocated knives in the run will be the Stag. Here are the details.

Northfield – single line – dimple bolster and cap end
Jigged Bone – color to be determined
Acrylic – color to be determined
Stag

I’m going to guess there could be a fair number of SFO’s tagged onto this run based on the limited number of handle options and the length of time they’re allowing for production. Might be wrong, but this is a pretty limited handle selection for a new run.

Yup, it’s that time of the year once again!!! Time for the 2017 Annual Ice Out Contest! That may not be a big deal for most of you, but if you live in this part of the country, it’s a signal that we’ve survived another winter and spring may come once again.

Rather bleak, no?

So for those of you that aren’t familiar with an Ice Out Contest, it’s pretty simple. Just place your best guess when we’ll see the ice go out on our local lake. If you want to do some research, go back and read the outcome of the previous contests right here on the blog or search the average ice out dates in Minnesota.

Once you’ve got your research done, post a reply to this post with your best guess. Remember to post

Month/Day/Year

TIME in CST

Entries will be accepted until 8:00 AM CST ~ Friday, 3/24/17.

maybe something like, March 30, 2017 4:35AM CST Nothin’ to it!

A few tips for this year. Like last year, it’s been a pretty mild winter and we’re starting to see some of the small streams starting to open up. Eagles, Geese and Swans are coming back in large numbers which tells me there’s a fair amount of open water already. The temperatures are supposed to be getting into the 50’s this weekend with pretty mild temperatures for the near future. Best I’ve got to offer!

So what if you actually win this contest? What do you get? Hmmmmm… let me think about it for a day or two. Maybe let you know what the winner will get in the Friday Update. Promise it’ll be worth the effort to make an entry.

Just drove around the lake this afternoon and I’d say we’re at about 25-30% open water. I honestly can’t recall things melting so fast. It’s supposed to stay cool overnite the next few days with a couple days in the 40’s so I’m still betting we could have open water by Easter Sunday. I’ll try to get a few pix up for you tomorrow.